Pope convenes meeting in Rome for Amazon region's bishops

October 15, 2017 at 7:08 a.m. | Updated October 15, 2017 at 7:15 a.m.

by Associated Press

Pope Francis leaves at the end of a canonization mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct.15, 2017. The pontiff canonized thirty martyrs, including priests and lay persons, suffered anti-Catholic persecution in 1645 at the hands of Dutch Calvinists in Brazil, while three children, indigenous persons in 16th-century Mexico, were martyred for embracing the Catholic faith and refusing to return to their ancient conditions. The other two new saints are a 20th-century priest from Spain and an Italian priest who died in 1739. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Francis leaves at the end of a canonization mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct.15, 2017. The pontiff canonized thirty martyrs, including priests and lay persons, suffered anti-Catholic persecution in 1645 at the hands of Dutch Calvinists in Brazil, while three children, indigenous persons in 16th-century Mexico, were martyred for embracing the Catholic faith and refusing to return to their ancient conditions. The other two new saints are a 20th-century priest from Spain and an Italian priest who died in 1739. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis has convened a special meeting of bishops from Amazon-area countries with a focus on indigenous peoples' needs he says are often neglected in the environmentally-delicate region.

In St. Peter's Square on Sunday, Francis explained that the synod was requested by the region's bishops and pastors from elsewhere.

With the Vatican's blessing, Latin American bishops in 2014 established a pan-Amazon initiative to advocate for local peoples, especially on environmental issues, in nine countries.

Francis announced that the synod will take place in Rome in October 2019 mainly to map new paths for evangelization, especially for indigenous peoples "often forgotten and lacking prospects for a serene future, also because of the Amazon forest crisis."

A native Argentine, Francis has repeatedly stressed a moral obligation to save Earth from environmental harm.

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